Goan-origin UK couple under police radar for illegal adoption of girl

01 Dec 201706:08am IST

01 Dec 201706:08am IST

Report byTeam Herald

Will be summoned for questioning; Lawyer, doctor who facilitated fake birth certificate too under scanner

PANJIM: A Goan origin couple working in the United Kingdom, has come under the police radar for illegal adoption of a girl child and is likely to be summoned for questioning. The Women’s Police Station is gathering details about Pio Viegas and Maria Lobo to approach the embassy to summon them.

“We are collecting details like passport information after which we will approach the embassy to facilitate the procedure to call the couple to Goa for deposition,” Police Inspector Sudiksha Naik told Herald. Rego is reportedly a Portuguese passport holder.

The questioning will revolve around allegations that the couple tried to show the five-year-old girl – a victim of physical abuse – as their biological daughter by approaching a doctor to procure a fake birth certificate.

An advocate, who allegedly advised the couple to secure the fake birth certificate from the doctor, is fearing arrest. Naik said the advocate has applied for anticipatory bail, which is scheduled to come up for hearing in the Children’s Court on Friday. The doctor is also likely to be called for questioning even as the police have sought all the birth forms from Mapusa Municipal Council which were signed by the doctor. “We are probing whether the doctor is involved in giving fake birth forms to others too,” an official said.

A case of assault had initially been registered against three women, all of whom have managed to get anticipatory bail. As per the case details earlier, the couple had adopted the girl but left her in the care of a tutor allegedly without carrying out any legal formalities.